1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that transfers image data supplied from an image input apparatus, a server apparatus that receives image data transferred from the information processing apparatus, and control methods and storage media therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
To enable an information processing apparatus to utilize a peripheral device, a device driver for the peripheral device must generally be installed to an operating system (OS) that operates on the information processing apparatus.
For example, in the case of enabling the information processing apparatus to utilize an image input apparatus (e.g., a scanner), a scanner driver is installed to the OS and started up from an application of the information processing apparatus, and scan settings are performed to make the image input apparatus usable, so that image data acquired by the image input apparatus is transferred to and processed by the information processing apparatus.
Conventionally, however, a scanner driver that corresponds to the image input apparatus and to the OS operating on the information processing apparatus must be made ready for use. To this end, a user looks for a proper scanner driver that corresponds to a combination of the OS and the image input apparatus and installs the scanner driver to the OS. This is cumbersome. In addition, a manufacturer and seller of the image input apparatus is requested to supply various scanner drivers respectively corresponding to various types of OS.
In, e.g., Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-275681, there is disclosed an information processing method that makes it easy to select a transmission destination address and to prevent an erroneous selection at data exchange between image input terminals via a network. With this method, an image read by a scanner of an image input terminal is transmitted to a desired image input terminal (e.g., an Internet server apparatus) based on address information represented by a bar code or a QR (quick response) code (registered trademark), which is embedded in the image. In other words, functions of reading and transmitting image data are realized by a scanner driver.
Furthermore, there is a network system called cloud computing. With the cloud computing, image processing can be carried out by a web service application provided by a server apparatus on the Internet, making it possible to utilize image data in a wide range of fields.
With the cloud computing, image data is sometimes transferred to a server apparatus on the Internet. In that case, an image file (image data) selected on, e.g., an image upload menu in a web page opened in a web browser application is transferred by a file transfer application from an information processing apparatus to a desired server apparatus.
To use image data added with, e.g., bar code information or two-dimensional QR code information as in the information processing method disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2005-275681, the image input apparatus must have a function of decrypting the bar code or QR code information. Also, the bar code or QR code information must be added in advance to an original to be read.
Furthermore, it is difficult for a user to judge whether or not the information processing apparatus can be used in combination with the image input apparatus. In a case, for example, that the information processing apparatus is camera compatible and Wi-Fi compatible and the image input apparatus is a scanner apparatus, it is difficult to judge whether the information processing apparatus is capable of accessing the scanner apparatus and judge whether the scanner apparatus has an image transmission function. This makes it not easy for the user to configure an image input system environment capable of computerizing documents with ease.